Cheaper FPV camera

I bought 5 Turnigy 1177 FPV cameras from HobbyKing for around $28 each. I found the exact same camera unbranded on sale on BangGood for $18. I should have bought some. Now they are around $23 and out of stock. Apparently others noticed. I hope in a week they will come back at the sale price.

600TVL 2.8mm Lens 1/3" Super Had II CCD Camera IR Sensitive for FPV Racing Drone PAL/NTSC

Micro 1/3 CCD 600TVL PAL 2.8mm FOV 120 Degree FPV Mini Camera 25*25mm For FPV Racer

This camera uses the excellent 1/3 inch Super HAD II CCD sensor that most $40 FPV camera's use. It has amazing Digital Wide Dynamic Range (D-WDR).  The mounting bracket and camera case are bad though. The screws go into plastic that gets stripped out after screwing them in and out a few times. I found 2 foxeer arrow replacement cases on banggood for around $3.26. It says 1190 only but it worked great with my 1177s.

Replacement Case For The Foxeer HS1190 Arrow Camera Case Only

It also has a 2.8mm convex lens which is ok but not great. Some companies sell it with a 2.1mm lens which is also not great because it is too wide of a view for fpv racing and has fish eye effect around the outside. The perfect lens seems to be the (effectively) 2.5mm lens from a gopro2. It is meant for a 1/2.5 inch sensor. That means that the edges of the lens do not get captured on the 1/3 inch sensor. That cuts out the fish eye effect! Sorry for mixing mm with inches, but that is how lens and sensors are measured. The fish eye effect is caused by the convex lens curving more at the edges and less at the center. This lens costs $9-$14. So I'll say $10.

Replaceable camera lens for Gopro Hero 2 ST-35

170 Degrees Wide Replacement Camera Lens For GoPro Hero 2/1 Camera

So $18 for the cam, $10 for the lens, $2 for a new case. That makes an awesome FPV camera for $30. Those $40 cams still need a lens upgrade so they become $50 cams.

Oh it looks like HobbyKing now has a new Turnigy 1177 v2 with improved case for $29 but the banggood one is still a better deal.